rusty

A few minor things: -don't crowd the eye so much (I still screw this up after years of tying). Best way to do this is to be careful when you tie the foam in and leave room for when the foam's pulled back. -get the back of the body dubbed too - just slide the dubbing up the thread all the way to the body before you wrap, and make sure that the first few wraps cover the end of the body completely. Your first few wraps can even be towards the rear of the fly. -not sure what you're using for wing material, but if it's hair, use a stacker and measure before you cut so that the wing is roughly as long as the body. Don't be afraid to flare the hair a bit either - I like those flies to have a nice bushy wing. Did you trim some of the hair tips? -did you tie the wing in on top of the dubbing? That will raise the wing base and doesn't give you as nice a profile. Dub the rear body, tie in the hair and foam, dub the front, pull the foam back and finish the fly. -your foam looks like it's open cell, but I could be wrong. Get some good closed cell foam - the open stuff will absorb water and it kinks too much when you pull down on it. All in all though that's a very good tie if you're just starting.

Lance, Thanks for the post - the tone was not confrontational and I really appreciate that. On the topic of creek crossings, though, I have to ask - doesn't it concern you that a quads crossing a creek can cause a massive amount of ecological damage? What about the silt and mud deposited in the creek, the erosion caused in many cases going up and down the bank, especially when it's wet, or the potentially toxic chemicals from lubricants, oils, and unburned fuel? Especially when these streams are small, the impact can be significant. If you don't feel the same, I recommend that you go fish Waiparous Creek well above the impacted area and then do the same well below. I know that, like every other sport out there, it's the 5% idiots that are ruining it for the 95% responsible users. Having said that, the 5% in the ATV crowd is doing a lot of damage to everyone's property and generally not taking care of what many Albertans feel is the best part of Alberta. I am as against random large scale camping for fishing or hiking as I am against doing so for ATVing. I just don't understand why people are allowed to squat on public land and we can't afford proper enforcement of the things that will make sure future Albertans will get have the same experience we did.

I think random camping should cost money - this freeloading horsesh!t has got to stop. A meager $10/night would bring in enough money to hire people to enforce the rules and keep things civil out there. Banning random camping isn't the answer, but there's no way it can continue in this unsustainable fashion.

Kings and sockeye. Can't wait to break in the new 1090-4 Xi2 and Nautlius CCF. The guide figures that you're having a great trip if you land one in 10 kings you hook.

With our trip to Alaska only 6 weeks away, I've been tying up big bunny bugs for the trip. The Norvise is amazing for these. I really like tying on these Waddingtons, even for flies that aren't articulated. I think a split ring and 2/0 Gammy will work well and the hook can be changed easily.

Rick - thanks for the link! Tom's site is awesome and a few of his tips have helped immensely.

Those permit look awesome - they must be a real handful on a fly! What sort of cost are you looking at to do a trip down there?

You can easily go through 100oz in a long day of walking in the summer.

I always stay at Lodgepole. Nice and treed in and not far from the townsite.

Westwinds and Troutfitters deal Simms. Fishin Hole does as well but I don't believe they stock the G3s. All those shops peddle Sage as well - but a 696-4TCR might be a custom order.

Who was the guy with the yellow pontoon with the casting platform and long handled motor? What a sweet rig!

Nah, B.C. = Big Cutthroats.

Glad to hear you're OK Jim! Hope your recovery is a speedy one.

Just wondering how many people here are hardcore Norvise users? I picked one up a few weeks back and to be honest I'm struggling a bit. I've tied on a fixed head Regal for 12 years and am having a tough time adjusting. How often are you using the spinning feature and how often are you using it like a normal rotary? I like the automatic bobbin but overall my flies are taking longer to tie and aren't coming out nearly as nice as they did before. Any pointers? Is it just a matter of a learning curve? I'm torn between waiting it out and learning to use it and getting a Renzetti instead.

I'm a Simms fan but to be honest you can't go wrong with most of the brands out there nowadays. Get the best fit possible. A second nod to UV Wader Repair - I got a 2" long tear on the seam of my Simms Guides and was taking on copious amounts of water. A 30 second repair inside and out on the way down to the lake and they are good as new. Awesome product!

Guaranteed DS2 is covered...I think even the old DSs were under full warranty. If in doubt just give Sage a call.

Was a great time...wish I could have stayed longer. Fishing was fast and furious for the little guys. Thanks for organizing this Allan.

I don't disagree with Brent, but I've always found that the Bow takes a day or two to adjust to conditions. I'm floating tomorrow but I don't expect much. Will spend the day pounding the banks and hope for the best.

Very sorry to hear that but glad to hear he's OK. Get well soon!

Just drove through a total whiteout from Didsbury to just north of Calgary. Floating the Bow tomorrow come hell or high water though - and it may very well be both.

What's a Sage VT2 go for? That's the way I'd go. If you buy off Ebay you could easily get an XP or potentially even a ZA for $450.

I have that Rio Gold in a #6 and don't like it at all. It would be a great dry fly presentation line but I didn't like the way it loaded the rod for nymphing or streamer fishing. Very supple line though, and many people really like it. I'll sell you a used once Rio Gold line for $50 if you'd prefer.

Fished it quite a bit. Bring lots of small dries - midges and hopefully some baetis. Hope for sh!tty weather and lots of cloud. Nymphing slays down there though...just rig up a small SJW and a #18 lightning bug or copper john 18" below it and use a small indy. The fish sit in calmer water a lot down there and you can often get them shallow.

There are some small stocked reservoirs around the north end of town and there are at least 3 very, very good public spots inside of an hour that you can find if you poke around and do some research. It's not that you can't bonk the odd trout, but bear in mind that C&R produces better fishing almost without fail.

Sorry to hear about your loss Lynn.